Peter Ferentzy holds a Ph.D. in Social and Political Thought from York University. His dissertation is a historical sociology of the origins and recent development of the modern concept of addiction with an emphasis on how it has interacted with ideas about mental illness and compulsions in general.

Dr. Ferentzy has studied and written extensively on Gamblers Anonymous, as well as other issues related to pathological gambling. His two most recently completed studies involve: 1. The history of ideas related to addiction with an emphasis on problem gambling wherein special attention is paid to the role of metaphoric conceptualization in the construction of scientific discourse; 2. A street level, ethnographic study of gambling patterns among crack users in downtown Toronto.

Peter Ferentzy is a recovering drunk and a recovering crackhead. He knows this topic from the gutter right up to the halls of academe. After losing two friends to overdose, and seeing clearly that in each case the governing approach to addiction was the cause, Peter wrote Dealing with Addiction — Why the 20th Century was Wrong. Peter wants to change things, and is arrogant enough to believe that he can.

Dr. Peter Ferentzy, PhD CRACKHEAD, an addiction expert who has lived the life of a crack addict reveals the ugly truth: the dominant approach to drugs and alcohol addictions has hurt and even killed more people than it has helped.

Ending Drug Prohibition and Emancipating the Addict – the Last Frontier in a Struggle for Enlightenment

With a special introduction by Dr. Gabor Mate.

Peter Ferentzy holds a Ph.D. in Social and Political Thought from York University. His dissertation is a historical sociology of the origins and recent development of the modern concept of addiction with an emphasis on how it has interacted with ideas about mental illness and compulsions in general.

Dr. Ferentzy has studied and written extensively on Gamblers Anonymous, as well as other issues related to pathological gambling. His two most recently completed studies involve: 1. The history of ideas related to addiction with an emphasis on problem gambling wherein special attention is paid to the role of metaphoric conceptualization in the construction of scientific discourse; 2. A street level, ethnographic study of gambling patterns among crack users in downtown Toronto.

Peter Ferentzy is a recovering drunk and a recovering crackhead. He knows this topic from the gutter right up to the halls of academe. After losing two friends to overdose, and seeing clearly that in each case the governing approach to addiction was the cause, Peter wrote Dealing with Addiction — Why the 20th Century was Wrong. Peter wants to change things, and is arrogant enough to believe that he can.

Join best selling author and physician, Gabor Mate for a special fundraising event in support of Pivot, co-sponsored by W2 Storyeum, VANDU and the Portland Hotel Society.

Gabor will be joined by Pivot Legal Society Litigation Director, Katrina Pacey and Lorna Bird of the Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society and Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users for an evening of discussion on the multi-layered issues of addiction, mental health, law enforcement and justice.